Chat about Novel Coronavirus - 2019-nCoV - COVID-19

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sohi in reply to @Greenbank

unless there's some mutation (no evidence yet to suggest this will or won't happen)

there is some evidence of a new mutation from Spain.

A coronavirus variant that originated in Spanish farm workers has spread rapidly through much of Europe since the summer, and now accounts for the majority of new Covid-19 cases in several countries — and more than 80 per cent in the UK.

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/scientists-warn-of-new-coronavirus-variant-spreading-across-europe/46127554

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Greenbank in reply to @sohi

OK, maybe I should have said "significant mutation". Mutations in viruses happen all the time, and there are a whole boat load of different variations of SARS-Cov-2 going round at the moment.

The danger is that it mutates in such a way that the existing immunity becomes less useful (or even useless).

Most of the time a significant mutation makes it less dangerous overall as it does something like lessen the time between infection and onset of symptoms (which makes it less likely to be spread) or reduces the percentage of asymptomatic cases (which, again, makes it less likely to be spread).

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